As is known, generally a bit for horses includes a central element, for example, made of metal, possibly jointed, suitable for being inserted in the mouth of a horse, and at least a pair of lateral rings, each attached to a relative end of the central element for connection to the reins.
In conventional equipment, each ring is free to slide in a hole made at the end of the central element.
To protect the horse's lip from contact with the ring, and above all to prevent the horse's lip from catching in the coupling point between the central element and the ring, for example in the hole for the ring, a protective rosette is fitted on each end of the central element. Such protective rosette is typically a rubber disc in which a circular aperture is made to insert the central element.
Since protective rosettes are usually supplied separately from the bit, and in order to adapt the same rosette to various types and sizes of central element and rings, the aperture made on the rosette has a larger diameter than that of the central element. This way the rosette can, upon application of considerable force, pass beyond the ring to be fitted on the central element and in addition can be applied to different bits.
Because of the significant difference in diameter between the aperture made in the rosette and the cross-section of the central element, the rosette moves along said central element and may leave the point of connection with the ring bare. Thus, the efficacy of current rosettes is quite limited.